Shield Chronicles: Ch 4
by DarkChaoticPrince
Summary: Already working on the next chapter I would love some feedback from anyone, love to see what you think!


Archer sat down in a heap. His lip was cracked, shirt all but scorched off of his body, and he was pretty sure that last clash broke his left arm. Red was nearly spotless, save for the long gash down his arm. It was visibly seeping poison. Archer spit blood into the snow and chuckled. Not even the mighty Red was invincible when it came to Toxicroak poison. He'd be dead soon. All Archer had to do was survive Red's last few moments of consciousness.

"Red," Archer said weakly, staring up at the trainer. "This has been a most memorable battle. I'll never forget you." Red's face showed emotions that took Archer off guard. Where there should have been anger, or even desperation, instead he saw joy and excitement. The battle was the most fun he had seen in years. Archer smiled, cradling his mangled arm as he struggled to stand. "You are truly amazing."

Raziel laid her hands over Lance's body, passing over flesh wounds and prodding broken bones here and there, willing them to knit back together. She felt the warmth of her body seep into him, leaving her cold, but stirring him into consciousness. Raziel spared a glance at Marcus, now Haunter. His weird hands and mouth had gone back to normal, and his voice was even Marcus. He talked and behaved just like he used to, but those eyes. She had tried to pry off the gauze, but it stuck as if it were his own skin. And under that gauze, those glowing red slits that were Haunter's eyes burned as if they could see as clearly as they might without the gauze there. And they could.

Since the fight in the basement, they had gone up to the main building, which were now just two crumbling walls and the shattered remains of a pokemon arena. Marcus had willed himself to change mostly back after they had gotten up here. He was now floating up above the city, sweeping his gaze across the rubble in search of the missing Cofagrigus. Raziel marveled at the difference in his power. He used to have to visibly calm his mind and focus to float a few yards. Now he was dematerializing at a moment's notice and floating without premeditation. Whatever happened inside that pokemon changed him. Raziel was just glad that Haunter had turned out to be a trustworthy ally. As she was wondering more on the matter, Lance stirred underneath her hands. She positioned herself into his field of vision.

"Did . . . did I kill it?" Lance pleaded with his eyes. Raziel smirked. "No," she said flatly. "You fainted in fear and I took on all three." Raziel nudged him into a sitting position, her face serious once more. "Listen; there is something I should tell you about Marcus."

"Don't bother" Lance cut her off. "I saw him get eaten. I know. Lance hung his head. Raziel's heart swelled. "Lance," she said, touching his arm, "Marcus is alive. Haunter saved him, but at a price." Raziel placed her hand on Lance's head and connected their minds. For a split second, Raziel felt Lance's affection for Marcus. It was warmth that made her want to delve deeper into his mind and reveal those feelings that no one broadcast openly. She could easily break into his private thoughts and bask in his emotions. While mind-linking, she was completely in synch with whoever she touched. Lance's feelings went stone cold.

"Watch it, Raz," he said with a warning tone. Raziel eased away from his emotions and went to her memories. She accessed her most recent ones and shared them with Lance. Images of the battle zoomed by, slowing when Marcus was eaten and again when Lance was blind-sided by a Shadow Sneak and knocked out. It zoomed past Raziel barely fighting off a Cofagrigus while trying to protect Lance's limp form at her feet. Her memories slowed again as Marcus smashed through the Cofagrigus in full on ghost mode. The other Cofagrigus scurried off and Haunter helped her up to the main building, where he changed back into Marcus after trying hopelessly to remove the gauze. Raziel let their minds drift apart after that.

"Wow." Lance sat back in a daze. "Wow." He propped himself up on his elbows and let his head roll back. He was horrified and relieved at the same time. Relieved that the person he cared for most in the world was still alive, and horrified that that same person had just become horribly scarred in more ways than one. His head swiveled in search of his friend. Raziel directed his attention up towards the ruins of a tall building across the street. The ruins of what was once a luxury hotel; now reduced to five-star rubble. Floating almost exactly where the top of the building had been was Marcus, eyes blazing, visible even from a distance. Lance got up, with Raziel right at his side as his crutch, and limped his way over to where his best friend was floating silently. As they approached, Marcus took notice of them and disappeared, reforming at his friend's side.

"How do you feel?" Marcus said, easing Lance's weight onto his own body. With this new strength, Lance felt as light as a newborn. His friend said nothing, but only stared at Marcus' face as if he were the one injured, which wasn't entirely false. Marcus was in pain. Where the bandages had been ripped from his leg, big red whelps had formed. They stung with each step. And the gauze over his eyes had become almost unbearable. Marcus would have sooner gouged out his own eyes than accept this pain. But Haunter made it bearable. By accepting Haunter's full power, they were literally fused. Haunter was no more, as his entire being was absorbed into Marcus shortly after the fusion, but his memories and even his knowledge was bestowed to him. And the most important gift he received from the pokemon, Haunter's eyes. They were powerful enough to see clearly, even beyond the gauze.

Lance leaned his head in close to Marcus' ear. "I'm glad you're alive, and I'm sorry about your pokemon."

Marcus smiled. "He wasn't my pokemon," He clarified. "Haunter was a friend. And don't be sorry. If anyone should be, it's me. But Haunter wouldn't want that." His fist clenched. "He'd want me to focus, and finish the mission. We've got rouge Cofagrigus on the loose. Let's put it down and report back to Sony before sundown." Almost dragging Lance with him, Marcus set off for the eastern gate. Raziel all but ran to keep up. "Are you sure," she asked. "Lance and I aren't in top condition after that fight." Marcus just powered on, seemingly ignoring her. Raziel just fell silent and followed closely as they left the city.

On the outskirts of Arisis, what should have been a lush forest, with winding trails set aside for cars, was now a pile of rotting plants and dead trees. Team Dagger had gone as far as to defoliate the wilderness in order to weed out any wild pokemon. Raziel let her mind drift outward to try and connect to any other living thing. She picked up on Lance's overwhelming emotions, and Marcus' unusually quiet thoughts. Marcus turned his head to gaze back at her with one glowing eye. _Don't,_ he thought, right at her. Her cheeks flushed and she thought back a meek apology. Lance continued to show his affection through his inner emotions though. Raziel just tuned out and focused on the drumming heartbeats, the squish of mud and leaves under their boots, and the overall silence of the forest.

Across the bridge, in the neighboring ruins of Taurisis, Team Dagger executive Braddock, swiveled idly in his chair. He was happy to own the only working building for miles, but pissed off that he had been stationed so close to the cursed city of Arisis. He had been up for hours night after night along with his entire squad due to the nonstop wailing that came from the city at night. It sounded as if everyone who had died in the rise of Dagger was experiencing that same pain, over and over again, night after night. The night before was the last night he had been kept up, though. Sometime before dawn, the horrid noise had subsided. Braddock was definitely going to wait until tonight to check it out. It could very well be that it had just ceased earlier than normal, and was due to start up again as soon as the sun disappeared into the horizon. But if it really had vanished, it was the perfect time to investigate and find out just what the hell had caused the noise in the first place.

The door to Braddock's office opened wide, and a confident lackey, dressed up in the standard black Team Dagger grunt outfit, came striding into his office. Braddock's Lampent materialized in the center of the room and floated the peon upside down so that his feet were brushing the roof and his face was an elegant shade of red. Braddock laughed a hearty, cruel laugh. He wiped tears from his eyes. "That was the most action I've seen in weeks!" He reclined back in his seat and waved his hand nonchalantly. "Set him down, Lampent, and then leave us." The pokemon immediately dropped the grunt on his back, then poofed away in a swirl of fire. The grunt snapped up and waited for the blood to drain from his head before speaking.

"Sorry to barge in here, sir, but I think you should see this." The peon gulped hard, and then continued. Braddock listened intently. "Scouts reported seeing a Cofagrigus hurrying from the ruins of Arisis an hour ago. It was followed shortly by a small group of kids." The lackey gulped hard as though he had done something bad. Braddock was losing patience. This grunt was a kid himself; one of the last minute add-ons to do simple... well, grunt work.

"What the hell do I care for some brats and a pokemon? That's not news, _peon_." Braddock sat back angrily. He hated his time being wasted by moronic updates like this even more so than he did being bored. He was about to summon Lampent to remove this grunt, when he put his hands up and pleaded him to wait. "These were no ordinary children, sir." The peon stepped forward and produced a large photo. It had been enhanced and clearly showed three kids that looked like hell. "This was taken around thirty minutes ago." the peon chirped. Braddock studied it closely. It showed three kids hiking through rotten foliage and who-knows-what. Emblazoned on the girl's shirt was a hand-drawn coat of arms. The details were too small to see, but Braddock had no need of them. The Shield in the middle was enough to make him smile even wider than the dog that had fetched him this wonderful news. Shield agents. Young ones, but Braddock got the feeling that they weren't lightweights.

"What's your name son?" Braddock shot the kid a smile, and rose from his seat. Two hundred and forty-five pounds of muscle almost glided towards the grunt. He was dwarfed by Braddock's powerful presence, being only seventeen himself and small for his age. "Simon," said the grunt, looking sheepishly at the ground.

Braddock clapped Simon on his back. "Thank you for the news, kid. Now get out while I form a plan, please." Simon offered a hasty salute and practically skipped out of the room. Braddock turned and faced the wall, smiling to himself. Here was a perfect chance to kill some agents, possibly expose the Shield base, and get in good with the man in charge. But Braddock wasn't feeling so giddy because of any of those reasons. Finally, after weeks of boredom, here was an amazing opportunity for some excitement.

Braddock couldn't wait to feed their souls to Lampent. Poor thing must be starving.


End file.
